OZ Matchers
by Miller0259
Summary: DG learns what an OZ Matcher is, and why it's sometimes better not to cross the line
1. Round 1

Title: OZ Matchers  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Rated: PG - One bad word! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns what an OZ Matcher is, and why it's sometimes better not to cross the line

A/N: Here's another one that is forever and a day old, finally seeing the light of day in my sudden bout of spring cleaning.

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DG was pestering him again.

"Explain this to me again?"

It was the day before the first OZ Matcher there had been since before the Witch took over. Needless to say they were too dangerous to have during her reign because OZ Matchers were a way for couples to announce their relationship which would have been basically saying to the Witch, 'Hey! Here's the best thing to threaten us with.'

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing his headache to go away. He looked up to tell her to go ask her sister, but found her curious blue eyes too hard to refuse.

"An OZ Matcher is where everyone shows up and their outfit turns white, and when they go through a magical barrier on the dance floor, it changes to a certain color depending on their relationship status-"

"Well, I know that part, Cain," she interrupted, plopping down beside him on the couch in his room. "I wanted to know more about the specific colors and little things that people don't mention in the broad explanation of it…"

He took in a deep breath, trying to remember all of the colors and their meanings. "Well," he began, not believing that he could remember all of this. "Married couples are purple, courting relationships are green, engagements blue, singles are brown or black, and matches made at the dance are orange, yellow or pink," he nodded as it all came back. "And secret romances are red, but you hardly ever see those because…well, they're trying to keep it a secret," he added with a wave.

DG's eyes looked slightly glazed over with this overload of information. "How do you tell the couples apart if they have the same color?"

"Each couple has a different shade that shows up when they cross the barrier. That has something to do with how long they've been in the relationship too."

She raised her eyebrows in a 'please elaborate' look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the longer you've been together, engaged, or married, the darker the color."

"Oh," she said, and then looked down, trying to process all of this information. She looked up after a moment, "Why are there colors for singles if the whole point of the dance is to pair people up?"

Cain looked out the window and took a moment before answering. "Well brown is for people who refuse to be matched, so they aren't necessarily 'single.' And black appears for relationships that have ended, whether they broke it off…or their wife or husband died…Which I'd expect to see a lot of tomorrow after the Witch's reign," he said with a somber tone.

DG's expression had instantly softened, and she mentally kicked herself. "I'm sorry, Cain," she whispered. "I should have thought of that…"

"It's alright, DG. You didn't know."

DG still looked like her puppy had just been kicked and Cain felt bad.

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" He gave her an encouraging smile, trying to let her know that it didn't bother him that much.

She glanced up at him, but refused to keep eye contact. "Once you have a color are you stuck with it the rest of the night? Even if you don't like who you're paired up with, or they don't like you?"

He quirked an eyebrow. _That's_ what she's worried about? "Pretty much yeah. Though I've never seen a pair matched that wasn't rightly put together. I guess that's part of the magic charm – it can tell who the person should be with, even if they don't know it."

She nodded thoughtfully. "That could make for some interesting love triangles. People being paired with someone who they didn't come with…"

He nodded thoughtfully in agreement, remembering more than one fight breaking out at Matchers. Maybe that's why he wasn't too fond of them. "Although if you cross by yourself and you're not dubbed "single," you can cross again and lose the color. But I think if you bump into your matched, you both get the color."

"Huh…thanks for the warning."

He looked at her curiously. "You expecting to be matched with someone, Princess?" The idea sounded alarming to him for some reason. He never did trust that magic charm to make the right choice…

"No, I just – hate being thrown into situations without knowing all of the rules and bi-laws." He knew what she meant. More than once they had been thrown into meetings and were expected to know all of the customs right away. Yeah right. "Alright, well I'll see you tomorrow…I don't know about you, but I can't wait," the latter tinged heavily with sarcasm.

"See you there, Princess."

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The next night, DG found herself standing just before the barrier, eyeing it wearily. There were already some happily matched couples dancing, and some happy reunions made all around the room as everyone mingled freely without a care in the world for the first time in years. Although there were quite a number of people in black wandering around the room, reminding them of how much had been lost in that time.

DG was nervous, and for the life of her, couldn't figure out why. It's not like she'd be matched with someone.

Would she?

She looked around again, and saw her parents in a deep purple with gold accents, and off to the side of them was Glitch in a warm brown with silver. And talking to him was Cain decked out in black with the slightest bit of gold buttons and trim. Out on the floor, Jeb and a girl from his resistance cell twirled around in a bright orange and silver. If that hadn't made her blink and snap back to reality, the hand on her arm would have.

She spun to find Az smiling knowingly at her. "Shall we, little sister?" she asked, offering a hand. DG smiled up gratefully and took her hand.

"We shall," she said, taking a step through the barrier with Az.

They both glanced down to see similar light chocolate shades of brown, but where Az's sash was silver, DG had a gold sash wrapping around her waist and up over her shoulder.

"Looks like we're a matched-unmatched pair," Az laughed and DG joined her.

Cain forgot to mention the difference between the gold and silver accents. Therefore DG had no idea what she had inadvertently announced to everyone with her gold accent.

Dorothy Gale, Princess of the OZ, was in love.


	2. Round 2

Title: OZ Matchers  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Rated: PG - One bad word! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns what an OZ Matcher is, and why it's sometimes better not to cross the line

A/N: Goodness me, you forget to type TBC once and the lot of you panic as if there won't be more! Relax! It still doesn't say complete, now does it? Sorry this one is so short!

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DG knew better this time.

She had been pestered relentlessly after the first OZ Matcher. People wanted to know who she was in love with, and she swore that she had no idea what they were talking about seeing as she was unaware of the customs.

She punched Cain in the arm rather hard after she realized what was going on and he just laughed.

She took in a deep breath and walked into the ballroom for the next OZ Matcher, 6 cycles later.

Time for round two.

She avoided the barrier, like last time, for the most of the party. And this time, Cain kept her company on the mainly white side of the line.

"Afraid your match is here this time, Doll?" Glitch asked bounding up next to them, also still in white, smiling like he knew something she didn't.

She just narrowed her eyes, "I've trekked all over the OZ with you guys. Why would crossing a little line in the middle of a ballroom to find a soulmate be scary?"

"Then dance with me!" he said grabbing her arm and pulling her across the room. She looked back to Cain pleadingly, and he just shook his head at them.

"Better you than me," he muttered. Dancing with the Zipperhead could likely lead to getting a spin kick to the face.

He watched as Glitch, in yellow and silver, spun DG, in dark brown and gold, around the floor gracefully. He saw his son with the same girl from last time, still in orange, but this time they had a gold accent as they twirled around.

After dancing with Glitch, others had pulled DG along for dances until finally she gave up and retired for the night like most of the other guests. Meanwhile Glitch pulled Azkadellia around in a matching yellow and silver outfit.

Cain remained until he was the last person left. He stood at the side of the room near the barrier, staring at it skeptically. After making sure nobody else was around, he stuck his hand through experimentally. And bowed his head in defeat.

That's what he thought.

Wyatt Cain was now dressed in dark brown with gold accents.


	3. Round 3

Title: OZ Matchers  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Rated: PG - One A few bad words! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns what an OZ Matcher is, and why it's sometimes better not to cross the line

A/N: I'm sorry this took a bit longer, my loves! You've all been so wonderful with the reviews, and not wanting this to end, so I…well…I just made this extra chapter! o.O And I think the overall story needed it, to be honest – so thanks for the inspiration! You all rock! And for the record: I'm having way too much fun with this story :)

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"I don't want to be here tonight," DG grumbled.

Ambrose gave her an unimpressed look.

"Just because you are missing your potential match while he's away on business, doesn't mean you can't have fun without him."

DG glared at him and his gold buttons. "Cain is _not_ my match, Glitch…I'm not matched to anyone."

"Yet," Ambrose answered with a Glitch-like gleam in his eye.

DG pointed at him. "Shut up and dance with your yellow Az."

He merely grinned at the grumpy DG. DG's eyes narrowed.

"Alright, fine!" she grumbled, and she threw up her hands in defeat. She walked over to Az and the sisters made their way to the magical line, one in white, the other in yellow and silver. Az smiled serenely as DG stepped across.

DG looked down at her dress with wide-eyes.

PEACH!?

Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap! OH CRAP!

She whirled around and looked at her sister, horrified, and with shoulders slumped in defeat. She had finally been matched. Azkadellia merely covered her mouth with a hand and stifled a laugh.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," she told DG, who was not comforted.

DG looked quickly around the room for a similar orange-y hue, but to her relief she saw none. But what she did see _was_ rather alarming.

Suitors.

Lots of them. Walking quickly to the Matcher line.

"Oh sweet jabberwockies," DG muttered and held her breath as about 15 men crossed the line.

They all held their arms out to see what color they had become, and just as quickly dropped them to their sides sadly after seeing an array of yellows, pinks, and browns not matching the Princess.

Az and DG had stood frozen at the spectacle. After a moment they cast each other sidelong looks, as if they almost witnessed a horrible car accident.

And then DG burst out laughing.

----Outside, minutes before----

Wyatt Cain made his way to the Palace from the stables where he had just arrived. He took his time walking by the gardens, and stopped at the bush of colored blossoms DG had pointed out to him as her favorite.

Well he _had_ promised to let her know when he got back. He tugged a blossom free and smiled faintly at it before readjusting the bag on his shoulder. He continued making his way towards the palace, but as he did so, he felt something change in the air around him.

Startled, Cain looked down to see he was in all white.

"Not another one of these damn things," he mutters under his breath.

----an hour later----

Cain finally made it to her door after dropping off his things. The room was dark, and so he went to place the blossom on her doorknob for her to find later.

"Cain?" a confused DG called to him.

Startled, he pulled his hand back quickly and turned towards her voice. She was walking down the hall towards him, pulling out hairpins as she went.

"It is you!" a happier, if not, still confused greeting. "I didn't realize you'd be back so soon."

He put his hands (and the flower) behind his back, and smiled at her with a slight nod.

"Yes, it didn't take as long as I thought." He tried not to shift his weight. He felt foolish about the flower now.

"Well you missed an interesting night," she chuckled darkly to herself.

He tensed before he could stop himself. "Oh?"

"I assume you can guess what's going on," she motioned to their white clothes. Her dress was simple. Elegant. But simple. Loose skirts, loose sleeves, modest corset.

His eyebrows raised, and he looked to the side. "Ah…" he said knowingly, feigning interest despite suddenly being on high alert.

"Yeah," she shook her head and freed her hair of the last pin, threading her fingers through it to massage her scalp. "Apparently, I'm peach," she said almost unhappily.

His fingers that had been toying with the stem of the flower behind his back faltered and he nearly dropped it.

After a beat of silence he realized she was watching him for a reaction, and he snapped out of it. He scrunched up his nose slightly.

"Peach?"

"Peach," she nodded solemnly. "Orange-ish. But still peach."

Cain's face remained unpleasant as he briefly pictured himself in peach. What the f-

"So what are you doing here?"

His eyes glanced back to her and he took in a deep breath through his nose. He needed an excuse. Did he? Or would the truth work? Should he? Oh, what the hell.

He brought the flower out in front of him and held it up to her. "Uhmm…" he had no idea what to say.

She blinked at it for a few seconds.

And those seconds allowed Cain's brain to catch up to what he had not entirely thought through. He suddenly realized that this could be coming a bit out of the papay field as some folk would say. Random, unexpected, not what she would like. What the hell was he thinking?

"I was going to leave this so you'd know I was back," he explained with a shrug.

That seemed to help her find her voice.

"…oh!" she finally managed.

He managed a weak smile, which twitched unhappily as if he was being forced to do this. But then she looked at him nervously and he finally caught on to why she was hesitating.

The flower was peach.

His smile faded as he looked at her, the meaning sinking in, but she was already reaching out for him to place it in her palm. He glanced to her face and back to her empty hand before slowly setting it down. He considered just dropping it without making contact with her hand. And he hadn't realized they were both holding their breath until he finally just bit the bullet, brushing his fingers against hers briefly, and felt the wave of magic wash over them.

To his credit, he didn't flinch, or swipe his eyes up and down her quickly to see if his suspicion was confirmed. He left the panicking to DG, and just slowly met her eyes as he exhaled, letting a bit of relief show on his face.

And then to _her_ credit, she merely exhaled shakily and looked him up and down briefly before her mouth twitched into an uncomfortable smile.

"I'm glad you're back, Cain," she said, deliberately avoiding the obvious, as she tried to hide the smile that was slowly growing on her face, as well as the blush.

His lips slowly curled into a smile, his eyes flickered enigmatically.

"Goodnight, DG."

She seemed to not trust herself to speak and merely nodded. He turned slowly from her and made his way down the hall towards his room.

DG stared at the flower he had given her for a moment before looking up to watch him fade into the shadows as he walked away. She suddenly had a whole new respect for him.

The man could pull off wearing peach like nobody's business.


	4. Round 4

Title: OZ Matchers  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Rated: PG - One bad word! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns what an OZ Matcher is, and why it's sometimes better not to cross the line

A/N: You guys have been awesome! Although I'm sorry to say that this is the last Round, it has been quite a ride…Thank you so much for all of your reviews, they mean the world!

-B

PS - In case you were curious, it's safe to assume that months pass between each of these "Rounds," and this last stretch was a bit longer than the rest…*smiles serenely*

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It was Azkadellia's birthday.

Which in this case, meant another ball. Another magic line. Another white dress.

This time however, DG was determined to avoid the magical line and silently cursing Az for wanting such a party. Naturally there were rumors as to why she was having an OZ Matcher, and it had been expected that Az would be announcing a relationship or possibly an engagement. DG reached up and fiddled with her necklace absentmindedly, the delicate chain disappearing under the top of her gown.

It's about time. Glitch and Az were less than subtle lately.

She glanced over at the couple now in light green and gold, speaking with her parents, with a small smile on her face. DG was happy for her sister, she really was. It was about as good as everyone accepting that Az wasn't evil anymore.

And Az looked radiant in her loose fitting gown, cinched under her chest and flowing around her, light green sparkled with gold. Glitch stood next to her in a simple green suit with gold trim and buttons. They really were a perfect couple.

Unfortunately her attention was drawn away by yet another suitor asking her to dance. And she responded like she had to every other suitor before him.

"Thank you, but I'm not dancing this evening. I'm letting this night belong to my sister."

And after the last man turned away a deep voice spoke up from behind her.

"I don't think he liked your answer."

She straightened and glanced over her shoulder at the Tin Man also still in silvery white. "I was being as nice as I could," she said innocently. "What would you have me do? Parade through the line and risk being matched with him?"

His mouth pressed into a firm line and gave her a disproving look.

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" she laughed. "Relax, Cain. All I have to do is avoid Az when a big dance number comes on so she doesn't pull me onto the dance floor."

"Easier said than done," he muttered glancing past her. She spun around just in time to see her sister coming towards her with a playful gleam in her eye.

"Come on, DG," she called. "Dance with your big sister on her birthday!" she said grabbing her arm before she could protest and pulled her towards the dance floor.

"No, Az! Please!" she glanced back towards Cain to see that he had disappeared. Damn him. Shows what good he was. She turned back to Az and said almost frantically, "Please, Az, don't do this. I'll dance with you, just not near the barrier!"

"Why not?" Az seemed to enjoy teasing her.

"Just trust me on this!" DG planted her feet but her stupid high heels gave her no traction whatsoever.

"Oh please." Az had almost gotten her there and with a final tug, DG knew she had lost. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst, as she stumbled over the line. "What's the worst that could hap-" Az stopped abruptly as she caught sight of the color of DG's dress.

Though the music still played, all talking ceased except for a few gasps and all noise seemed to fade as they stared at the younger princess. Her simple scoop necked dress that hugged her curves with off the shoulder sleeves now had a layer of gold over it, through which you could see a very distinct color. DG still had her eyes squeezed shut with a sort of grimace on her face as if bracing for some kind of impact. Someone turned down the music slightly after a moment.

DG finally opened one eye and glanced down to confirm that she did indeed, have a now dark red dress on, and gave a slight sigh. She pulled away from Az's now weak grasp and straightened herself, smoothing the material of her dress with her hands. She glanced up at Az with a half embarrassed glare.

"I _told_ you not to-!" she began to exclaim, but stopped herself, inhaling, when she remembered the very large audience she now had. She looked around with grimace and a smile, holding out her arms in a 'Ta Da' gesture, before looking back to Az. "Well. You wanted to dance," she said pulling Az further onto the floor and motioning for them to turn the music back up.

"DG – I had no idea!" she whispered earnestly when nobody moved, causing DG to snort.

"Well, obviously," she said motioning to her dress. "It's called 'secret' for a reason. Otherwise I wouldn't be in red, now would I?" That seemed to have cracked the tension in the room and she heard a few chuckles before the music began to get louder again.

"Wanna dance, Birthday Girl?" she asked with a lopsided grin. Az just shook her head at her younger sister's carefree attitude.

"Yes. Yes I do." They joined hands and placed their other on each others' shoulder before spinning gracefully around the dance floor. Most of the people seemed to follow Az's suit and shook their head at DG, knowing that the truth would come out sooner or later. But for now they could gossip.

"I hope you realize," Az began after they had danced back over the barrier and DG's dress was white again, "that you'll have to announce your relationship before the party is over just so Mother and Father don't have heart attacks."

DG laughed. "I can make them sweat it out a little though, can't I?"

"Mr. Cain," DG's Mother's voice called to him as he made his way around the buffet table, trying to sneak out of the room..

He flinched. He almost got out of the party. "Yes, Your Majesty?" he said, turning back to her.

"Would you mind terribly, escorting DG back to her room? I can imagine that she will want to leave the party soon after she and Azkadellia are done."

He managed to hide a wince. "Certainly, Your Majesty."

But he had already seen enough.

And he really didn't want to be around DG. Especially since she had just announced that she was having an affair. He looked to the floor. This could not end well.

CDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDG

As DG spun Az out for the last time, she had almost forgotten about the whole color debacle.

"May I cut in?" A familiar deep voice asked behind her. DG almost leapt out of her skin. What was he thinking!?

"Cain! You shouldn't sneak up on a girl like that… Who knows how she'll react," she said quickly, glaring at him as she turned towards him but stepped away from him in the same movement.

"Sorry," he said with a slight nod. "But your Mother requests that I escort you to your room soon." He raised a hand behind her, but made no move to actually push her along with a hand on her lower back.

"What?" she whispered, thoroughly confused.

He leaned towards her slightly. "Apparently she doesn't want you to cause any more trouble," he muttered, sounding almost amused.

And that's when he saw it.

There were two couples spinning towards each other and as one swung away from them, another headed straight towards DG, not seeing her where she stood.

The couple ran right into DG, knocking her forward, into him, and he caught her without a second thought. But as soon as he did, he closed his eyes, inwardly cursing himself for being so freaking noble. After the startled gasps, and immediate apologies died down from the bumbling couple, he heard other gasps emanate from the rest of the room. He cleared his throat and straightened himself, pulling DG up as well.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, trying to ignore how her dress was red again, and how his ears burned.

"Yeah," she said quickly, glancing down and bit down on her lip. He could just tell that she was trying not to laugh. He bowed his head in defeat, noticing that his arms, in their red sleeves, were still around her waist.

To hell with it.

He looked up towards the Queen and her Consort and gave them a very uncharacteristic and very sheepish smile.

"Well then," he muttered, at which point DG lost her inner battle. She burst out laughing and fell into him, burying her face in neck.

Cain was staring very intently at the floor when DG finally recovered enough and she turned his face towards hers.

"We tried," she said with a grin before starting to laugh again. He found himself chuckling along with her at how ridiculous they must have looked. He nodded in acceptance.

"Where is it?" he whispered, and she tilted her head for a moment before her eyes widened.

"My necklace," she said after a beat. "Are you sure?" He simply nodded and reached up to pull at the chain around her neck. With a slight tug, the gem it was hiding was finally freed and he held it out in front of her. She waved a finger through the chain, making it disappear. What was left was a simple yet elegant, silver engagement ring with a faintly peach stone resting on top.

He raised her left hand up, and with a warm smile on his face, he caught her eye before sliding it on her ring finger. More gasps and murmurs rippled through the room as their outfits changed from dark red to navy blue, starting from their sleeves and spreading around and down to their toes.

"Red just isn't your color anyway," he murmured with a grin.

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A/N: Remember what I said about this being the last Round? Well it is.

But you know that means I can throw in missing scenes whenever I come up with them, right? *chesire cat grin* Like the one I'm holding hostage until tomorrow?

Though for now, I'm going to change this fic to "Complete" b/c the main story is done. And my thanks again for reading! And a big Thank You to all of you who review(ed)!


	5. Interlude: What Next

Title: OZ Matchers – Interlude: What Next?  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Rated: PG - A few bad words! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns more about customs in the OZ that reveal people's true colors.

A/N: This follows right after Round 3. And Considering I just whipped it up in the last hour, it is most likely laden with grammatical errors. However, I think there's enough fluff to distract you. Enjoy, b/c I'll be out of town and internet free for the rest of the week, and then it's back to school…Isn't that just _peachy_? *headdesk*

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Cain had trouble sleeping the night he was paired with DG.

In _peach_ no less…

Deep down he knew that this day was coming, but it still rattled him a bit. Even though he had a routine, a job, steady communication with his son, and was finally letting the past _be_ in the past, it was still different to see it out in the open.

Well, at least out there for her knowledge. Everyone else was pretty much in the dark. Sure they could guess, but none of them _knew_.

But the thing that kept his eyes open to witness the slow journey of the shadows across the ceiling was: Where the hell did he go from here?

He knew that because she was raised on the otherside, that it would not be strange for her to make the first move, so to speak. But that just wasn't how he was raised, and so he figured that _he_ should be the one to do something first. He just didn't know what kind of something or how forward or backward it should be.

Was she taken off guard by all of this? Or was she on the same page or further than him? Her casual brush off of the whole thing both comforted and confused him. Either she was in no hurry or she just didn't know how to say, 'No thanks,' and walk away without hurting his feelings.

He had noticed her soft smile when she really _looked_ at the flower. She may not be much into 'girly things' as she says every so often, but something tells him she just isn't _used_ to flattery, and gifts, and receiving flowers, and things.

He finally rolled to the right, towards the empty side of his bed, and settled into his pillow with a small smile.

He could start small then.

----Somewhere Else in the Palace----

DG was on her left side staring at a peach colored blossom, which was resting on the pillow, on the side of the large bed she doesn't use.

One arm was tucked under her pillow, while the other rested on top of the covers that were down around her waist. Her fingers played with the edge of the blanket.

He gave her a flower.

The corners of her mouth threatened to turn upward.

Wyatt Cain, Mr. Angry Eyebrows himself, had been sneaking around her room to give her a flower.

She wasn't even obsessing over the fact that they had been paired together at a ball….anymore…

She wasn't one to obsess over every look, word, or action. And she didn't like reading into things too much because it only led to unnecessary tension and heartbreak.

But it's a _flower_.

It was just one of those extra superfluous, why-does-anyone-need-a-flower-except-to-let-them-know-they're-being-thought-of things. He had obviously grabbed it in particular because she would know it's from him, and that it was one of her favorites.

She buried her face into her pillow to hide her smile from no one but herself. She was being an absolute giddy idiot about this. She briefly wondered if giddy idiot is where they got the British term 'git.' Probably not.

She turned her head back to the flower, her smile erased, and breathed through her nose.

Right. The flower.

So what now? Does she get him something? Do they continue, business as usual, and bicker and pester and spend free time with each other like it's not a big deal? Because somehow this Matcher thing has kind of _made_ it a big deal.

Stupid dances. Now she isn't even sure how to act around her friend.

But this is Cain. He is simple and straightforward. He is gruff and no nonsense and likes to keep to himself. And he apparently has a soft spot or two on him.

Her mind started to wander into dangerous territory at the mental mention of areas on him, and she blinked a few times to clear them.

So note to self: keep it simple, don't be an idiot, and for heaven's sake give him a day or two.

Right. One ridiculous gift coming right up.

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The next afternoon DG finally reached her room after a long morning of magic practice with Tutor. She pulled the flower out of her hair that she had been wearing in hopes that Cain would see and know that she is open to this idea of being matched.

She sighed through her nose as the door shut.

She hadn't seen him at all.

Sure, that wasn't new, but it was still disappointing. She could always try to find him late-

She stopped in the doorway between her sitting room and bedroom and backpedalled, with wide eyes.

There was a large vase, with a single Padellya, the peach flower from the gardens outside.

She stood frozen for a few moments as a slow smile stole over her face and she found herself blushing. She started back towards her room, but gave the vase a second glance before disappearing through the doorway.

She pulled out the two hairpins she had in her hair and went to place them on her vanity, but her hand froze halfway down to the surface.

There was another flower by her hairbrush.

She blinked at it and then her eyes slid around the room.

There was one on the lounge chair by the balcony. Two on her pillow and one leaning up against the picture of her and Az on the nightstand.

Well _that_ is just TOO _cute_.

She didn't know how to handle it to be honest. Who can handle Cain in the first place, let alone when he's trying to be charming?

She walked around her bedroom and sitting room, eventually gathering all twelve. She placed them in the vase and lifted it so that she could smell the blossoms, closing her eyes with a smile. She wondered if he had found _her_ gift yet…

----Across the Palace----

Wyatt Cain was in a meeting with a few of the guards, catching up on things he missed while he was away. When one of the guards' pens ran out of ink, Cain opened his right desk draw to let him borrow one.

Instead of producing the pen, the guards were startled to hear him laugh at the open drawer and shut it again quickly.

It was packed with fruit.

Peaches to be precise.


	6. Interlude: The Fallout

Title: OZ Matchers – Interlude: The fallout  
Characters: DG/?(guess….), Cain, Glitch, Az, and some of the Tin Man crew and a random-non-interesting OC.  
Rated: PG - A few bad words! o.O  
Genre: Romance, Drama/Humor (fluff)  
Summary: DG learns more about customs in the OZ that reveal people's true colors.

Timeline: Post Interlude: What Next?

A/N: Holy lack of updates, Batman! School intervened. This one got a bit longer than I intended…and more angsty. But it gets fixed!

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Cain was not going to say anything.

He was just going to sit there with his fingers curling into one of the tightest fists he'd ever made.

He was _not_ going to say anything.

He stared hard at the top of the table as the talking around him continued.

He wasn't.

Another snide remark began and Cain snapped. His gun was out and slammed loudly on the tabletop as he stood. Everyone's attention was on him, or the gun, as he calmly brushed the side of his nose, jaw clenched.

"I've heard enough of this bullshit," he straightened and picked up his gun. "Find me when you're done trying to make the Princess' personal life public knowledge." He turned to leave. "I'll be doing something actually worth my time."

As he passed DG at the end of the table, his eyes flashed to hers briefly, and while his face revealed nothing, she mouthed the words, 'Thank you.'

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Thu-thump-clap.

Thu-thump-clap.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Yeah," he called, not looking away.

Thu-thump-clap.

And that was how DG found him. Bouncing a ball against a wall in his office.

He looked over as she walked in, but his gaze was drawn downward and away when he saw her close the door firmly behind her.

"The gossiping is over," she said, somewhat rhetorically, though she was hoping for a response.

He nodded and threw the ball to the wall where it bounced off and onto the floor before finally slapping back into his hand.

Thu-thump-clap.

DG bit her lip, and furrowed her brow at his behavior. She looked around the room for something to help. Her eyes landed on one of the empty chairs that were facing his desk. She glanced at him again.

Thu-thump-clap.

Moving to the chair closest to the desk, she dragged it around the desk and sat down, placing her hands in her lap, and staring at his profile.

Thu-thump-clap.

Her head tilted.

Thu-thump-clap.

Thu-thump-woosh.

Cain sighed through his nose and set his arm down on his armrest.

If he had a hat on, the side glare he gave her from beneath the brim would have been pretty intimidating. As he was hatless, the bit of amusement he had in his eyes was not hidden.

"I would have shared, had you asked," he said dryly. DG smiled.

"But you wouldn't have stopped, had I told you it was annoying."

Cain looked away as a smile took over his features and he nodded.

An uncomfortable silence soon overtook the pair as Cain's distraction had been magic'd into DG's hand. The things that had been said in that meeting weighed heavily on them.

Finally, DG took a deep breath and began. "I didn't realize that people thoug - "

"DG-" he raised a hand, "you don't need to explain a _thing_ to me."

DG sat forward. "No. No, I do." She placed a hand on his arm, gaining his full attention. "The things they brought up when they were trying to figure out my match…it…it made me…" She sighed heavily. "I am _not_ interested in all those names they kept throwing around."

He looked at her, eyes searching, but not for whether or not she was telling the truth. His lips parted as if to say something, but he seemed to think better of it.

"I may speak to lots of men, and spend time with them, but it doesn't mean anything. I just…I'm…"

Cain leaned towards her. "Friendly," he supplied.

"Social," DG corrected, eyes narrowing.

He leaned back and stared at the wall again.

She tilted her head again, and considered her next statement briefly.

"I'm almost happy they think I'm that _friendly_. I'd have thought it was rather obvious who I actually like."

Cain's eyes slowly slid from the wall to the floor, to her eyes. Her face was blank. But not the innocent kind of blank. The…actually blank, look. He looked away again, upset that he couldn't read her.

Then it occurred to him that he didn't need to.

"I know what gold means…" he said quietly.

There were a few beats of silence.

"Me too," she replies softly.

This time, the silence wasn't uncomfortable. They were both thinking the same thing, though Cain decided to speak first this time.

"So what now?" He continued to look at the spot on the wall that he had been hitting with the ball.

"Now?" DG considered him briefly. "We find something to eat."

Cain's brow furrowed and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. That wasn't exactly what he expected.

"I'm hungry," she said defensively, shrugging a shoulder.

Confusion gave way to amusement.

"I have a drawer full of peaches if you'd like one…"

She smiled slowly, her lips twitching as if she was considering letting him in on something.

"You know…I don't actually like peaches…" she said, amused at the irony of it.

He burst out laughing. She joined him and when she stopped she realized he was staring at her with a slight smile on his face. He shook his head and chuckled lowly.

"What?"

"I don't like 'em either."


	7. Interlude: Viewscreens

Title: OZ Matchers – Interlude: Viewscreens  
Timeline: Post Interlude: The Fallout, Pre (but closer to) Round 4  
Summary: DG learns more about customs in the OZ that reveal people's true colors.

A/N: Are you sitting down? Because this actually IS a new chapter… o.O I'm terrible. You know it, I know it, my muse knows it. I hope the fluff and new old-tradition-you-didn't-know-the-OZ-had makes up for it. More at the end…

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The OZ had some interesting ways of communicating. Instead of telephones, they had Viewscreens.

In order to use a Viewscreen, a person either needed magic or a clear, magical gem. The gems changed color much like now the outfits change at OZ Matchers, DG noted. Purple for marriages, blue for engaged, green for courtships, and then brown or black for everything else. She assumed red would show up too, but hadn't witnessed it yet, herself.

A few months after DG's third Matcher, Cain, Jeb and Raw left with some troops to end some skirmishes that were threatening to spread farther into the OZ. They took a Viewscreen with them and every few days, people would gather at the Central City Palace to talk to their loved ones who were in the military.

DG watched over the crowd with a soft smile on her face. A few people were milling around waiting for their turn at the Viewscreen, while others just stayed to visit. DG could tell how easily the people were coming together after the Witch's reign. People seemed more relaxed and happy now that they could openly hug a person without having to worry about them, or themselves, being hurt by the Longcoats because of it.

DG fiddled with her gem, which she had fixed in a bracelet. A simple silver setting was all she required. Some people made elaborate rings or necklaces, some even made them into keychains.

Glitch had a bracelet, Jeb clipped his to his belt, and Raw and Cain had necklaces. Well, DG amended, Cain didn't like it being called a necklace.

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_DG noticed a chain around Cain's neck one day and narrowed her eyes._

"_What?" he asked suspiciously._

"_You wear a necklace?" she asked incredulously._

_Cain practically growled. "Don't call it that…"_

_DG's brow was now raised. "What else would you call it? A man chain!?" she snarked._

_He rolled his eyes and pulled out the gem on a fairly masculine looking chain for her to see._

"_Oh," DG muttered, and dropped the subject._

_Cain just shook his head, amused that he rendered her speechless._

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Soon it would be time for her to get the latest report from Cain and she suddenly felt her stomach flop.

It had been doing that lately whenever she thought of him.

However she didn't have long to dwell on that because Glitch had started ushering people out of the hall and it was now time for her to take notes.

DG made her way up to the Viewscreen platform and plopped down in the chair, slapping her notebook onto her lap as she grabbed her gem, thankful the chain was long enough to reach from her wrist to her palm. It had writing with her other hand easier. Sure she didn't need to use the gem, but it was one less thing she didn't need to concentrate on.

"Hey there, Princess," Cain's voice crackled over the Viewscreen as screen put him in focus.

"How's it going, Tin Man?" she queried, feeling herself relax after seeing him alive and well.

"Well enough," he said with a half smile. "Ready?"

She nodded and pinched her thumb and forefinger together, drawing a line in mid air a few inches long. A pen materialized and she grabbed it before it fell to the floor.

"Showing off already?" he asked, not hiding how he was impressed.

"Practice makes perfect," she muttered, glaring at the pen which proved to have no ink. She shook it and then closed her eyes, tapping it on her notebook a few times. This time when she scribbled on the corner of the page, ink came out, but it changed color in a rainbow-like scheme.

Close enough.

"Are you ready now?" he asked slowly and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep her cheeks from turning a slight shade of pink as she squirmed in her chair, trying to look like she was getting comfortable.

"So..." she prompted him and he started talking with a smirk.

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"Okay," DG nodded awhile later, finishing up a few notes. "So that means you'll be home soon?" she asked without looking up.

At Cain's silence, she looked up to see his eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"You're getting better at this," he said. He hadn't actually hinted that they'd be leaving in a few days, but by his report she had figured that out on her own.

She looked at him coyly. "I'm not completely hopeless, you know…I have a few tricks up my sleeves," she said raising her hand still hiding the gem in her hand in a showy gesture.

His eyes locked onto her wrist, and followed the chain to where it disappeared in her fist. He glanced at her quickly before shifting in his chair. She caught his eye and gave him a small smile. His eyes bore into hers before he glanced around behind him.

"Are you alone?" he asked quietly.

She looked around to see that the room was empty, from her little corner of the room. It's not like anybody could see her with the Viewscreen in front of her.

"Yeah," she whispered, her smile threatening to spill across her face. He was smiling softly now and nodded towards her hand.

"I want to see it," he said in a low voice.

She grinned now. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours, Tin Man," she said suggestively.

He laughed at that, and raised his hand, that had his man chain wrapped around it, with the gem in his fist, and shook it for emphasis.

She smiled and leaned toward the screen opening her fist with her palm upward while he did the same.

A bright red glow shown from both gems, and DG glanced up slyly to see Cain staring back.

"Still a secret," he mused, giving her a smile that made her glad she was sitting down.

"I miss you," she murmured after a moment.

He raised his other hand and ran his fingertips along her jaw line on the screen. DG reached up and flattened her hand on the screen and he pressed his palm to hers.

"I miss you too, Sweetheart," he whispered. "I'll be back before you know it."

'Bye,' she mouthed, with a small wave, causing her bracelet to shake. He gave her a lopsided grin and winked before breaking the connection, causing the screen to go dark.

DG watched as her gem faded, as did her smile.

There was another Matcher coming up soon.

It was getting harder to come up with excuses to not show her true colors to everyone.

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A/N: Ridiculous. My muse has skittered to a stop with this story apparently. This is one of the original written-forever-and-a-day ago scenes. I was going to add another interlude or two before this for transitional purposes but NOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOooo…but this has another OZ tradition! I hope that makes up for the wait. But sadly, I think it's safe to say that I'm done with this one (for a long while anyway)… You guys have been amazing and overwhelming with your reviews and alerts though! THANK YOU! It means the world. Really.


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